Customs FOU Zone ‘A’ Seizes N1.7bn Worth of Contraband
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Customs FOU Zone ‘A’ Seizes N1.7bn Worth of Contraband
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has achieved significant success in its anti-smuggling operations, with a total of 82 interceptions recorded within the period under review.
Comptroller Kola Oladeji, Controller of FOU Zone ‘A’, disclosed this during a media briefing at the Unit’s headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday.
According to Comptroller Oladeji, the seized items include 3,832 x 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice, equivalent to 7 trailer loads; 27 units of used vehicles, also known as “tukumbo” vehicles; 494 Jerry cans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), equivalent to 14,820 litres; 27 bales of used clothing; 95 bags of charcoal; and 3,643kg of cannabis sativa.
Six suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizures.
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The cumulative duty-paid value (DPV) of the seized items stands at N1,720,214,649.00.
Comptroller Oladeji attributed the successes recorded by the Unit to the “painstaking efforts” of its officers, who spent hours on patrol and surveillance of the borders.
“It took the painstaking efforts of our officers who spent hours on patrol and surveillance of our borders to achieve these seizures. Let me reiterate that we will not relent on our oars. Our resolve to tame the activities of illegal trans-border trade and other crimes remains sacrosanct,” he said.
He reiterated the Unit’s commitment to taming the activities of illegal trans-border trade and other crimes, and assured that the Unit would continue to dialogue, engage, sensitize, and educate the public on the social and economic implications of smuggling.
“We will continue to dialogue, engage, sensitize, and educate the public on the social and economic implications of smuggling, as well as performing our statutory function of enforcing compliance in line with government fiscal policy,” he added.
In addition to the seizures, the Unit also recovered a total sum of N72,442,526.73 through the issuance of Demand Notices (DN) as a result of irregular declaration of consignments.
INCNews247 reports that Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has rolled out several trade facilitation tools to boost revenue and grow the economy.
These tools include Time Release Study (TRS), Advance Ruling, and the recently launched Authorize Economic Operator (AEO).
Comptroller Oladeji appreciated the collaborative efforts of other sister agencies in the fight against smuggling and appealed for their continuous support.
“We appreciate the collaborative efforts of other sister agencies in the fight against smuggling and appeal for their continuous support. We also thank the Comptroller General of Customs and his management team, officers and men of the Unit, community leaders, and partner government agencies who are showing concern and collaborating with the Service for their continuous support,” he said.
The seized cannabis sativa will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution.
